Vehicular driveshafts including, but not limited to, propeller shafts, transfer drive torque from one drivetrain component to another. For example, a driveshaft is commonly used to transfer drive torque from the output shafts of a transfer case to the differentials in the axle assemblies for driving the wheels of the motor vehicle. Driveshafts typically include a tube having angularly articulable joints disposed at either end. Exemplary joints include, but are not limited to, universal joints (UJ) and constant velocity joints (CVJ). The angularly articulable joints enable the driveshaft to accommodate changing relative angles between the drivetrain components while transferring drive torque therebetween.
Traditionally, joints have been attached to the tube using common welding techniques, which result in imbalance in the driveshaft. As a result of this imbalance, the driveshafts must be balanced in order to inhibit noise and vibration that would otherwise be generated by the spinning driveshaft. The requisite balancing process increases the manufacturing cost and the weight of the driveshaft.
Alternative welding techniques, such as magnetic pulse welding (MPW), have been implemented to improve driveshaft balance during manufacture, thereby reducing the need for post-manufacture balancing. An exemplary MPW method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,921, issued on Nov. 9, 1999 and entitled Method of Magnetic Pulse Welding an End Fitting to a Driveshaft Tube of a Vehicular Driveshaft. Although the welding method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,921 is acceptable for welding an aluminum tube to a steel joint, this method is unable to provide acceptable welds when welding components fabricated from a broader range of material types.